1. Technical Field
The present disclosure is directed to camera housings and in particular to self-cleaning camera housings for use with thermal imaging cameras. The present disclosure is further directed towards self-cleaning camera modules.
2. Background
Remote monitoring of subjects, chemical species, and/or environments is gaining importance around the world. In particular, remote monitoring is becoming a valuable tool for use in applications such as process optimization, livestock management, security, surveillance, geothermal analysis, health monitoring, gas leakage detection, etc.
There is a need to use cameras (e.g. thermal imaging cameras, visible wavelength cameras, etc.) in remote and/or potentially grimy locations. Such locations include industrial settings, wilderness, offices, recreational settings, public venues, airports, etc. In many such locations, there may be maintenance or reliability issues associated with remote access to the monitoring equipment, the equipment being located in areas of high traffic, buildup of contaminants on the lens/window of the camera housing, uncontrollable environmental conditions, and the like. Such issues may negatively affect the performance, maintenance, and/or cleaning schedules of the associated camera systems (e.g. thermal imaging camera systems).
In particular, buildup of contaminants on the lens/window of the camera housing may obscure the view of the target environment; negatively affect the quality of the readings obtained by the camera (e.g. affect accuracy of thermal images captured there through), absorb/refract/reflect incident energy there upon, etc.
In many cases, the lenses/windows used for thermal imaging cameras may be constructed from one or more expensive, fragile, and/or mechanically soft materials. Thus they may be prone to scratching, cracking, and/or fracture during routine cleaning and/or maintenance procedures.
Of particular relevance, automated monitoring of subjects in industrial settings is growing in popularity. In the livestock industry (e.g. cows, fish, poultry, swine, sheep, etc.) for example, the management of cattle is of particular interest to industrial institutions, food distribution networks, and farmers. Events such as breakouts of disease (e.g. infection, mastitis, influenza, etc.) can wipe out entire herds and/or otherwise adversely affect production of milk or produce. In general, the automated monitoring of livestock may be very useful for assisting with herd management, but may be hampered by the need for maintaining an un-obscured and/or un-fouled view of the animals over prolonged time periods. Problems such as equipment fouling may be compounded in actual applications, as such systems may often be physically located near to the intended subjects, (e.g. so as to better elucidate fine spatial features thereupon, for easier target identification, to lower the technical requirements of camera modules, etc.), which may be of interest in the intended application.